Reference is made to applicants co-pending applications of the same date and titled xe2x80x9cImproved VoDSL Service Provisionxe2x80x9d (our reference 10868ID: Czajkowski) and xe2x80x9cEnhanced Performance VoDSLxe2x80x9d (our reference 10880ID: Czajkowski). The contents of these applications are intended to be incorporated herein.
The present invention relates to communications access networks, and in particular to Voice-over Digital Subscriber Line customer premises equipment and services provision.
Telephone access networks have historically always been connection orientated, typically using dedicated copper wire circuits between subscribers and the exchange or central office. Typically these access networks were designed to carry only voice with a bandwidth of less than 4 kHz. However in recent years with the growth of the internet and demand for other multi-media services such as video-on-demand and video conferencing, subscribers of telephone companies have demanded additional bandwidth over the access network to provide adequate internet and multi-media services access.
The Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) protocol was developed as an access network architecture for delivering all types of services including voice, data and video for example. Although ISDN provides a single access technology, it is limited by offering only xe2x80x9cnarrow bandxe2x80x9d communications speeds and relatively high pricing for terminal equipment and network access. This, together with the lack of xe2x80x9cimaginativexe2x80x9d residential services that could capitalize on the underlying bandwidth capacity, has seen the technology being confined to larger business customers.
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) modem technology has enabled the transmission of digital information at duplex rates from 144 Kbits/s to over 1 Mbits/s over the local subscriber loop consisting of unshielded twisted pair cable. Reference is made to IEE Electronics Communication Engineering Journal, Vol.11, No. 3, Page 125 (June 1999) for additional background on DSL technology. The demand for additional telephone lines and integrated telephony and data services has given rise to voice-over DSL (VoDSL) solutions, which use modem technologies to deliver services in-band over a single physical line. For example, a VoDSL offering may provide a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) functionality with 4 POTS (Plain Old Telephony Service) ports, each with a unique telephone number, and an ethernet port for high speed data access to an Internet Service Provider (ISP). All the POTS (typically voice or fax conduits) lines are provided as digitally derived services. VoDSL is an emerging technology, and as such requires subscriber acceptance and take-up both for the future development of this technology and to repay access network operator investment in the VoDSL equipment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide improved VoDSL customer premises equipment functionality.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide the subscriber of VoDSL access networks with improved services capability.
In a first aspect the present invention provides a Digital Access System (DAS) Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) comprising: an internal packet switched network comprising a switch; a DAS modem connected to said internal network and arranged such that in use the internal network is coupled to an external packet switched network by a DAS link over an access network; a network-telephony interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises telephony appliance; a network-data interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises data appliance; a controller arranged to control said switch in order to establish packet transfer paths between said modem and said interfaces to complete calls between said appliances and entities on the external network; and means for transferring service messages across said internal network between said interfaces, said controller and said modem.
Preferably said DAS is Voice over Digital Subscriber Line (VoDSL).
Preferably said means comprises means for transferring control and information signals between said controller and a computing function in order to adapt the controller to provide alternative packet transfer paths for said service messages.
Preferably said means comprises an application programmers interface enabling function corresponding to an application programmers interface enabling function in said computer function which together form an application programmers interface (API) between said means and said computer function over which said signals are transferred.
Preferably said CPE comprises said computing function.
Alternatively said computing function is external to said CPE
Preferably said computing function is associated with a Personal Computer connected to said network-data interface.
Preferably said API is formed across said interface.
Preferably said switch is a multicasting switch.
Preferably said internal network is an ATM network.
Preferably said data appliance comprises a Personal Computer.
Preferably said service messages comprise text messages and control signals according to the ADSI specification.
Preferably said telephony appliance comprises an ADSI telephone.
In a second aspect the present invention comprises a system comprising a DAS CPE, a customer premises data appliance connected to said CPE, a customer premises telephony appliance connected to said CPE, wherein said CPE is connected in use to an access network, and wherein said DAS comprises: an internal packet switched network comprising a switch; a DAS modem connected to said internal network and arranged such that in use the internal network is coupled to an external packet switched network by a DAS link over said access network; a network-telephony interface connected to said internal network and coupled to said customer premises telephony appliance; a network-data interface connected to said internal network and coupled to said customer premises data appliance; a controller arranged to control said switch in order to establish packet transfer paths between said modem and said interfaces to complete calls between said appliances and entities on the external network; and means for transferring service messages across said internal network between said interfaces, said controller and said modem.
Preferably said DAS is VoDSL.
Preferably said means comprises means for transferring control and information signals between said controller and a computing function in order to adapt the controller to provide alternative packet transfer paths for said service messages.
Preferably said service messages comprise text messages and control signals according to the ADSI specification.
Preferably said telephony appliance comprises an ADSI telephone.
In a third aspect the present invention provides a method of operating a VoDSL CPE to provide enhanced calling line identifier information, said CPE comprising: an internal packet switched network comprising a switch; a DSL modem connected to said internal network and arranged such that in use the internal network is coupled to an external packet switched network by a DSL link over an access network; a network-telephony interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises telephony appliance; a network-data interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises data appliance; a controller arranged to control said switch in order to establish packet transfer paths between said modem and said interfaces to complete calls between said appliances and entities on the external network; and means for transferring service messages across said internal network between said interfaces, said controller and said modem; said method comprising: receiving an incoming call for said telephony appliance; receiving incoming caller identity information from said call; routing said information to said data appliance; receiving service messages from said appliance which contain enhanced calling line identifier information; forwarding said service messages to said telephony appliance in order to display said enhanced information to a user of said appliance.
In a further aspect the present invention provides a method of operating a VoDSL CPE to provide internal calling services, said CPE comprising: an internal packet switched network comprising a switch; a DSL modem connected to said internal network and arranged such that in use the internal network is coupled to an external packet switched network by a DSL link over an access network; a first and second network-telephony interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a first and second customer premises telephony appliance respectively; a network-data interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises data appliance; a controller arranged to control said switch in order to establish packet transfer paths between said modem and said interfaces to complete calls between said appliances and entities on the external network; and means for transferring service messages across said internal network between said interfaces, said controller and said modem; said method comprising: receiving an outgoing call from said first telephony appliance; determining whether the called party is said second telephony appliance; routing said call to said second telephony appliance.
Preferably the method further comprises: determining whether said second telephony appliance is engaged in another call; forwarding a service message to said second telephony appliance indicating that said first telephony appliance is calling.
In a yet further aspect the invention provides method of operating a VoDSL CPE to provide an e-mail alert service, said CPE comprising: an internal packet switched network comprising a switch; a DSL modem connected to said internal network and arranged such that in use the internal network is coupled to an external packet switched network by a DSL link over an access network; a network-telephony interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises telephony appliance; a network-data interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises data appliance; a controller arranged to control said switch in order to establish packet transfer paths between said modem and said interfaces to complete calls between said appliances and entities on the external network; and means for transferring service messages across said internal network between said interfaces, said controller and said modem; said method comprising: receiving service messages from said data appliance which contain an indication that said appliance has received an email; forwarding said service messages to said telephony appliance in order to display said indication to a user of said appliance.
In another aspect the present invention provides a method of operating a VoDSL CPE to provide a modem state diagnosis service, said CPE comprising: an internal packet switched network comprising a switch; a DSL modem connected to said internal network and arranged such that in use the internal network is coupled to an external packet switched network by a DSL link over an access network; a network-telephony interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises telephony appliance; a network-data interface connected to said internal network and coupled to a customer premises data appliance; a controller arranged to control said switch in order to establish packet transfer paths between said modem and said interfaces to complete calls between said appliances and entities on the external network; and means for transferring service messages across said internal network between said interfaces, said controller and said modem; said method comprising: receiving service messages from said appliances which contain modem state information requests and forwarding said messages to said modem; receiving service messages from said modem which contain modem state information and forwarding to said appliances.
Preferably the method further comprises: receiving service messages from appliances which contain control instructions for said modem and forwarding said messages to said modem.